Schools’ “major concerns” about pupils with challenging behaviour

The growing number of pupils with challenging behaviour is a
major concern for many schools, according to Ofsted.

An inspection of policies and support services for children with
special educational needs found that schools and education
authorities were finding hard to provide for pupils with social,
emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Several authorities had behavioural support services, but the
increasing number of pupils with challenging behaviour was still
the greatest cause of concern for schools and local education
authorities.

Ofsted found that all local education authorities were committed
to a policy of inclusion for children with special educational
needs and their support services were trying to support mainstream
schools in providing for as wide a range as possible of pupils.

But there was concern among schools that as they became more
inclusive their overall academic performance would drop. Some
schools with a reputation for inclusive practice were
“nearing the limits of their capacity to provide well for
them and for other pupils,” says Ofsted, leading to tensions
when it was felt that neighbouring schools were not trying hard
enough to meet special needs.